


The Freedom of Falling

by squadhanjis



Series: Into the Flood [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beach, Angst and Feels, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, First Kiss, Friendship/Love, Hades deserved better, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Mal needing someone to listen, One Shot, Sad and Happy, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Strong Female Characters, Uma being the one to listen, Understanding, Walks On The Beach, enjoy, mal being seen and listened to for the first time, ok I'm done, umal is so much purer than people could understand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:20:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23724463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squadhanjis/pseuds/squadhanjis
Summary: 𝘜𝘮𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.It's the night of festivities in the wake of Mal's royal decree, the streets are alive celebrating the destruction of the wall, the joining together of families. Uma finds herself needing some fresh air, the shore of Auradon calling her, but what she hadn't expected to find was the next queen of Auradon, the dragon of the Isle, sat upon the shore, weeping.In which Uma puts aside the years of taunting and torment, to listen to someone broken and to be listened to in return.
Relationships: Mal & Uma (Disney), Mal/Uma (Disney)
Series: Into the Flood [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769620
Comments: 7
Kudos: 36





	The Freedom of Falling

**Author's Note:**

> It comes and goes in waves.  
> fic inspired by my best friend and also the song waves by dean lewis.  
> (if you can't tell by now, a lot of my writing is spurred by music)
> 
> this is just some feelings, and something to show everyone how slept on umal is.  
> my heart was really full writing this, because it's my first ever umal fic, so please feel free to tell me what you think.
> 
> enjoy <3

“He’s gone.”

The girl sat in front of her was someone she had never met, purple fierce flames diminished, smoking into ash. Those vibrant emerald eyes she had always seen, but never been this close to, were dull now. They were still mesmerizingly beautiful, full of different hues and embers, but now they were heart-breaking too. They’d always been so full, so _full of life,_ but now they were full of storms, swirling and festering. It was almost too much; it was everything Uma had not to look away. She couldn’t look away. No matter the differences between the two girls, she couldn’t do that to Mal.

“I knew the villains were allowed back on the condition they’d have a fair trial, but-” tears were streaming down Mal’s face, and Uma fought not to reach out her hand and wipe them away.

“I never thought he’d have done anything unforgivable. I gave up on my Mother a long time ago, but this was never the plan.”

Mal reaches up and wipes away the tear streams away roughly, as if they were dirt on her lovely, lovely skin. She was so lovely, Uma thought to herself. Even in times of extreme darkness, she shone. Her deep purple hair was strewn across her face, flickering like flames and falling like a waterfall to shape her chin. She’d always been so beautiful, even when she was cruel and taunting. She’d been like a lot with Uma, but it wasn’t anything the other girl couldn’t handle. They were cruel to each other; years of being pit against each other by their parents, commanded to cause maximum damage to the other, like some sort of deadly stakes. A dog fight; may the baddest bitch win. Mal was fucking ruthless when they really went at it; it had been years, but Uma still remembered that snarl, the fire in Mal’s green eyes, burning. She differed from Uma greatly in that respect; Mal’s whole body held electricity, radiating off her in magnetic waves. Uma burned warmer, seeping through the other’s tough skin like sharp tides. It’s how they fought so ferociously back on the isle, and why they always found themselves coming back to each other in Auradon.

Uma looks at Mal sitting in front of her, wondering how they got here. The whole of Auradon was alive tonight, vibrantly so, celebrating the destruction of the wall, the joining together of families. It was a sight to behold, fireworks lighting up the sky like spills of paint on a cool, blank canvas. The streets were lit with dancing bodies, loud with the screams of laughter and singing. They could be heard from this quiet spot on the beach, even with the bridge blocking them from the view of the town. Uma could still see the picture of the festivities; they were stark in her mind as the calming crash of waves seeped through her.

Mal glances up at her now, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Uma had just needed a breather, she needed to be by the water, just to talk to her Mother. (She knew she wouldn’t be heard, she would never be heard by the Sea witch again, but it helped her to feel closer to her.) What Uma hadn’t expected to find amongst the quiet coast, was the great daughter of Maleficent, ruling queen of Auradon, to be sat on the shore, dress hiked up, toes buried in wet sand. What Uma hadn’t expected to see was Mal, who had tormented her for years, to now be the one silently weeping, breaking up the serenity Uma had so desperately wanted.

She found she didn’t mind, though.

“I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this. I shouldn’t be. I-” Mal looks at her wildly now, green eyes searching brown.

“I’ve been awful to you.”

Uma speaks now, for the first time in this exchange.

“That’s true. I haven’t exactly been a ray of sunshine either. Tell me something though, Princess.”

Mal's expression turns to one of wariness, and Uma doesn’t blame her. Despite their very recent reconciliation, feelings that run as deep as their hatred did aren’t easy ones to forget. Uma found that the animosity was like muscle memory to her, it came instinctively to her, but if she was being honest – she knew that was bullshit. Uma would have done anything for Mal, and Mal could have gone on and hated her. Uma didn’t think she ever really hated Mal in the beginning. (She hated what Mal did to her, what Mal made her feel, what she _couldn’t_ feel.) Uma taught herself not to feel anymore, but this moment – it was overwhelming.

“The parents haven’t even been allowed back on the isle yet, how could you possibly know what the king and queen are going to decide for Hades? Surely you and Ben have a choice in this? Didn’t he help you save Auradon from Audrey?”

Mal closes her eyes, tears pricking the corners once again. She’s clenching her hands tight, her knuckles white, her breathing shallow.

“They weren’t going to tell me until after the celebrations. I was just in Ben’s study, looking for my spell book. I only wanted-”

Mal’s drawing blood, her dark nails ripping into her skin. Impulsively, Uma reaches out and laces her fingers through Mal’s. Despite their history, Uma knew she had to be there for Mal. She’d never seen the other girl let her guard down like this, feel this deeply, especially not in front of her. She’d never seen Mal not at her strongest, not at her most ruthless, she’d even seen her in moments of extreme kindness, of playfulness, of bravery. She’d never seen her like this. Mal had bestowed it upon Uma, this moment of extreme sorrow, and Uma would die before she betrayed Mal by letting harm come to her. Even if that harm came from Mal herself.

Mal tensed as soon as Uma’s hand slid through hers, and Uma could feel her own heart stop in anticipation, but Mal swallowed and squeezed back. It was so light, and so quick, that if Uma wasn’t as tuned in to the other girl through years of taunting, she would have sworn she imagined it. But she knew she didn’t. Mal, with her eyes still closed, breathed deeper, stronger this time. (Almost as if she took the strength from Uma herself, like she was drawing on her strength and her power, like there was a channel between the two from their joined hands.)

“I just wanted to find a spell for fireworks. Instead, I found Ben’s parents talking about my father. Talking about his fate, and how they were going to tell me in the morning, so as not to cause a scene.”

“Did they see you?” Uma’s eyes are wide, mirroring Mal’s.

She nods. “I ran before they could say anything. Nothing they could’ve said would’ve stopped me from just running. I ran all the way here.” She squeezes again, looking down at their interlaced fingers.

A silence falls upon them now, just the sound of the waves mingling with their breathing. Uma doesn’t say anything, she can’t say anything, she can’t possibly give voice to her thoughts. Mal’s shallow breaths become deeper, and Uma knows she’s made the right choice by staying silent. She doesn’t think Mal needs to hear anything, she just needs to be _heard_. The more Uma thinks about it, the more she realises that that’s all she’s ever really needed to do with Mal, just hear her. She would’ve understood a lot more about the dragon girl.

“I couldn’t even face telling Evie, I ran straight here. I just needed the salt, I think. The waves. I needed to just feel the sea air on my face.” Mal’s eyes are closed again, her chin tilted up. They’re sat right in front of the water, the waves quietly crashing against their bare toes. Both Uma and Mal’s dresses are hiked up to their thighs, their shoes discarded further up the shore.

Uma’s silent again. She tries to ignore the pang in her chest, the one telling her that she wasn’t special, that Mal would’ve unloaded onto the next bystander, whether it had been her or fucking Mr. Smee. After all, Uma knew she wasn’t special, in fact she was probably one of the last people Mal would confess her deepest fears and secrets to; she was just there.

She must’ve tensed up unknowingly, for she opens eyes she hadn’t even realised had drifted closed, to Mal’s body faced entirely towards her, her attention focused solely on the girl with the waterfall braids sat opposite her. Mal has a strange look in her eye, one she’d seen when Mal was in proximity to her closest friends, but a look that Uma had never been on the receiving end of. (No matter how much she wished she had, had wished for some form of admiration that wasn’t out of fear.)

“I see that look in your face. You had it back on the Isle.”

Uma doesn’t turn to face Mal, instead opting to look out onto the ocean’s horizon, not willing to give anything away. She knows it’s unfair, she knows it’s the least she could do for Mal. (But she’s scared. This moment has been one she’s dreamed of, but never really thought she’d experience.)

“You know, I remember how we used to be at each other’s throats. I can’t believe I used to call you Shrimpy.” Her giggle is loud against the weight of the moment, but not unwelcome.

“We used to be so awful to each other. But you made me tough, and you made me realise how strong I needed to be in life. I’m glad that’s behind us. I… I’m glad it was you that found me tonight. It’s nice to talk to someone who knows what I’m going through, you must be wondering about your Mother too.”

Uma lets out a bark of laughter, and it visibly startles Mal. She turns to face the purple-haired girl now, smiling sadly.

“My Mom’s dead… She died when Trident defeated her.”

Mal’s expression is one of pure horror, one hand shooting up to her mouth in shock. “But your diner-”

“-was my way of carrying on her legacy. It’s ok, Mal, I’ve made peace with the fact that she’s not coming back. But, I guess, it means I do get what you’re going through.”

Uma squeezes the hand that’s left between hers. “I’m here for you. Not as your enemy, not as Uma, not even as the queen of the Isle, but as a friend who half gets it. I’m serious about it, too.”

Uma didn’t expect to find Mal tonight, but what she expects even less is the fierceness in which Mal throws herself at her in a tight embrace. The suddenness take’s Uma’s breath away, to have the other girl initiate this moment, to have the girl she’s secretly loved all these years to throw herself into Uma’s arms. (She’s sure of it now, that the line between love and hate is a fine one. She’s sure she crossed it, and then stamped it out years ago. She’s sure of Mal in her arms.) She’s not sure how long the embrace lasts, but it’s more than she could’ve ever imagined.

Mal’s voice is muffled, her face buried in Uma’s neck.

“I think you do get me, Uma. A lot more than either of us ever realised.”

She pulls away then, her arms still clenching Uma’s side. There’s a desperation radiating from her, not in any way but an almost thankful one, the desperation you feel when you’re truly understood for the first time in a way you didn’t know you needed. Uma didn’t know she’d been holding on to these feelings, there was so much she didn’t know, but staring into Mal’s eyes and having those eyes stare so intently back, she knew she loved this girl. Mal may not have realised it, but this embrace said more than words ever could to Uma. It was like time itself halted.

They’re staring at each other now, but Uma’s not even sure she would describe it like that. The world around them is quiet save the lulling crash of waves, and they’re just sat there, turned to each other. They’re _looking_ at each other, into each other, like they’re only just seeing the other woman for the first time in their lives. Because that’s what they are now, women. They’re not children anymore, they’re not little girls fighting for dominance on the playground that is the Isle of the Lost, they’re not pawns belonging to their parents, pit against each other in a never-ending and deadly game of chess. They’re now allies, queens of their respective islands, rulers of their people, reunited enemies, and they’re free of any chains they once bore. Uma knows Mal can feel it, that gravitational change, that shift in the way they see each other. Because they now _see_ each other. They’re finally equals, finally on the same playing field, having been through the same struggles and battles, having come out of the other side. Stronger. There’s no taking, or giving, or hurt or anger or lingering resentment. There’s calm, understanding, empathy, and the knowledge that these two women finally know where they belong in the world, and with themselves.

Mal whispers again. “I guess I never really took the time before, to realise it.”

Uma’s body feels like it’s going to explode, like there’s a storm brewing inside of it, like those words were the ones she’s been waiting her whole life to hear, but only once she’d heard them was that made clear to her. So, when Mal leans in and places her lips softly on Uma’s, Uma doesn’t tense up or push her away. She does the only thing that feels right in that moment, and she gives herself right back.


End file.
